Revised state report cards released

COLUMBUS -- The Ohio Department of Education released revised Ohio report cards for districts that were investigated for improperly removing students from attendance records.

"Actions that mislead the public about the performance of our education system are unacceptable," said State Superintendent Richard Ross. "Local communities should have confidence that schools are giving a full and honest accounting of how they are educating our children. By recalculating the report cards, we are taking an important step to restore that trust."

The Cleveland School District was part of the investigation, as a result the 2011 revised state report card shows the district failed to meet a single state standard. The district's rating still remains an F.

But individual school building ratings did fall significantly in some cases. Six CMSD schools are now in Academic Emergency and four are in Academic Watch.

"We have been informed that the State's recalculation of 2010-11 school and district report cards will affect 10 of our schools, but CMSD's overall district rating will not change," said CMSD spokesperson Roseann Canfora in a statement.

"As a result of the statewide audit of attendance reporting practices, it was determined that the District's attendance records were not sufficiently detailed or complete to confirm reported data. We further learned of the State Auditor's position that students who were being removed for truancy could not be removed unless and until they had been adjudicated by the court system. We are taking steps to address all of the items identified in the statewide audit and improve our record-keeping processes. While ODE is still completing its investigation, we do not believe there is any evidence that this was the result of improper conduct in order to influence report card results. CMSD will continue to cooperate with the ODE in connection with this matter."